When examining historical events, such as the Holocaust, it is imperative to be aware of the dangers of hindsight bias. Although one could look at the history of prejudice, discrimination, and violence toward Jews and assume that the Holocaust was an inevitable outcome of previous events, this teleology produces a far too simplistic explanation. It is true that historical accounts from ancient times, such as Manetho’s anti-Jewish counter narrative from the 3rd century BCE, share similar themes as those seen in modern times, such as in the writings of Adolf Hitler in the 20th century CE. However, while it is reasonably argued that animosity toward Jewish people has been present for thousands of years, the nature, degree and surrounding circumstances of such aversions have varied drastically.
